Box Score

Appleton, Wis. – The Prairie Fire got on a roll in the second half and posted an 86-75 Midwest Conference win over Lawrence University on Saturday.

Knox (4-11, 2-8 MWC) snapped a two-game slide and avenged a heartbreaking 93-92 loss at home against the Vikings last month to split the season series.

Lawrence dropped its ninth game in a row.

The Prairie Fire started slowly and trailed the Vikings 18-12 at the 12:27 mark.  Knox cut the deficit to 20-17 on a layup by senior Grace Theisen (Minneapolis, MN, Southwest) four minutes later.

Lawrence built its largest lead of the half at 32-24 with 3:21 left.  The Prairie Fire responded with a 10-0 surge that began with junior Jodi Marver (Northbrook, IL, Glenbrook North) scoring on a drive to the basket.  She also had a 3-pointer during the run, which sophomore Jamie Blue (Urbana, IL, University) capped with two free throws for a 34-32 Knox advantage with under a minute remaining in the half.

The Vikings forced the fifth tie of the game when Kassidy Rinehart scored on a layup to send the teams into the locker room knotted up at 34-34 at the break.

The Prairie Fire shot a chilly 23 percent, including 5-of-28 (18 percent) from 3-point range, in the first half.  Lawrence hit 36 percent from the floor in the opening half, but Knox outscored the Vikings 15-0 on 3-pointers and 9-2 at the foul line.

The Prairie Fire grabbed a 36-34 lead to begin the second half on a layup by Marver.  The Vikings responded with six straight points for a 40-36 lead with 18:30 remaining.

Lawrence extended its lead to 52-45 with 15:14 left in the game when Knox put it all together.

A 3-pointer by junior Jessica Howard (Galesburg, IL, Galesburg) capped an 11-0 run over the next 2:30 to give the Prairie Fire a 56-52 lead.

The Vikings cut the Knox advantage to two with a bucket on their next possession.  The Prairie Fire struck again with a 9-0 run for a 65-54 lead midway through the second half.

Lawrence (3-12, 1-9 MWC) closed the gap to 65-56 on a basket in the paint, but Knox didn't allow the hosts to get any closer.

A 3-point basket by Blue with 7:43 to play put the Prairie Fire on top 75-60, their biggest lead of the game.

Knox outscored the Vikings 52-41 in the second half.

Knox improved to 47 percent shooting after halftime, including 8-of-19 from 3-point range (42 percent), and shot 34 percent overall.  The Prairie Fire finished with 13 3-pointers while knocking down 17-of-25 free throws.

Lawrence hit 43 percent from the field in the second half and finished at 39 percent.  The Vikings committed 26 turnovers that led to 30 points for Knox.  Lawrence scored 18 points off of 20 Prairie Fire miscues.

Knox received a solid contribution from its bench, which outscored the Vikings' reserves 27-13.

Marver led four Prairie Fire players in double-figure scoring with 19 points to go along with six rebounds.  Blue added 13 points, senior Chantal Heckman (Chicago, IL, Latin) had 12 points and team-highs of seven rebounds and five assists.  Theisen chipped in with 11 points and six rebounds.

Katie Schumacher had a double-double for Lawrence with 22 points and 13 rebounds.

Knox plays at Cornell College on Tuesday night at 7:30.

The Rams (13-3, 9-2) defeated St. Norbert College 54-46 on Saturday in DePere, Wis. for their fifth straight win.  Cornell also moved into a tie for the Midwest Conference lead with SNC after defeating the Green Knights.  The teams split their two regular season meetings.